Photo by Kelly Sullivan: Vietnam War veteran AJ Cruce received a Purple Heart for wounds inflicted during an ambush mission in 1967.

Tuesday, August 1, 2017 5:00 AM

AJ Cruce was on an ambush mission in Vietnam in 1967 when a B-40 rocket shattered against a nearby tree. He and his commanding officer were sprayed with shrapnel from the blast. The two men were immediately medevaced from the jungle on the border of Cambodia where they were stationed.

Seghon Rorie received a 16-year sentence a little more than a decade ago. He was convicted of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon. While this wasn’t his first stint in jail, he determined to change the outcome this time around.

Monroe’s first food delivery service launched last Tuesday. Snohomish resident Garrett Peckler has been working for the past nine months to open a local branch of My Town 2 Go, which operates in 18 states across the United States.

Mitchell Boulter was named a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist this fall. As a junior, he placed in the top 1 percent of the 1.6 million students who took the 2016 Preliminary SAT, also called the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

Pastor Les Bouck said attendance peaked at around 200 several years ago. Membership has dwindled over time due to congregation members moving away, U.S. Highway 2 traffic, leadership changes and recurring damages to infrastructure, he said.

Hannah Catalino had three months to tame a 3-year-old wild mustang she named Montana Breeze.The 22-year-old said the horse earned its identity.Catalino and Montana Breeze competed in the 2017 Extreme Mustang Makeover Aug. 17-19 at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds.

Within less than a year of becoming a licensed nonprofit, RiverJunky has kept nearly 42 tons of waste from entering Washington’s waterways.Volunteers have cleared roughly 36,000 pounds of trash from sites in Snohomish County. It took just two cleanups to amass that figure.

Lori Johnson reports her blueberry yield this year was exceptional. In fact, it was more than the 20-year-old bushes have ever produced.By early July the thin branches were drooping with so many berries they looked more like weighted grapevines.

Before Taekwondo, Seong Hyeon Park said he was scrawny and attracted bullies. He gestured toward himself to point out his small stature. The South Korean martial arts student said he also used to get sick frequently.

Shante Miller didn’t expect she would make the jump from a plane under the current circumstances.The 35-year-old has been clean for three years following a 12-year drug addiction, with some of that time spent in jail, detoxing and homeless. No, she didn’t believe that path would lead her to accomplish a childhood ambition.

The city of Monroe recognized the Sky Valley’s ham radio operators for their efforts in service and volunteerism.Mayor Geoffrey Thomas proclaimed this June 19-25 Amateur Radio Week during last Tuesday’s council meeting.